Car Racing without Money-Chapter 539 - 209: Racing Against the Wind (Part 3)
Chen Xiangbei was already accustomed to the Italian rogue’s money-minded appearance.
He casually picked up a baseball cap from the table and put it on his head, then walked straight to the track media center.
An F1 Driver has it easy; though they are global public figures, they don’t have to worry about hairstyles, clothing, or makeup like celebrities do during interviews.
Team apparel plus a baseball cap is the standard outfit for a driver.
Take Verstappen, for instance; his Red Bull Racing team suit seems like it’s welded onto him, as you can see him wearing it at any time and place.
Upon reaching the backstage of the track media center, Chen Xiangbei didn’t see Rosberg and Kovalainen, but instead saw other drivers participating in the pre-race press conference: Alonso, Hamilton, and Weber.
Chen Xiangbei hadn’t interacted with these individuals before, but upon seeing him enter, they greeted him warmly.
Often, competition is competition, and life is life.
Leaving Weber aside, Alonso and Hamilton are villains on the track, yet they’re quite friendly to newcomers and have no racial prejudice against Chinese drivers.
In later generations, Chinese driver Zhou Guanyu got a lot of help from his idol Alonso upon entering the circuit.
Furthermore, Alonso is one of the few people in the paddock to call him "Guanyu" rather than the Western habit of calling him "Zhou."
As for Hamilton, when Zhou Guanyu posted about experiencing racial discrimination on foreign social media, Hamilton openly shared and supported him—his influence can bring great power to public opinion.
Chen Xiangbei naturally waved in response, then sat on a sofa nearby waiting to enter the studio.
Soon, Rosberg and Kovalainen walked in too; compared to the previous drivers who greeted actively, these two directly chose to ignore him. Naturally, Chen Xiangbei wouldn’t offer warmth to a cold shoulder.
F1 is a place that values efficiency. Once the drivers present, they were led by staff into the front studio.
On stage, there was a long sofa, a separate chair for the host, and below, a dense crowd of journalists.
As a world-class event, journalists from around the globe would gather at the track during race week, and surprisingly Chen Xiangbei spotted a microphone with the Hong Kong Phoenix logo among the crowd.
There was no doubt that this time, domestic media also sent reporters to the scene.
Six drivers stood in front of the stage; the "click, click" of the cameras was incessant, and the flashing lights in the reporters’ hands were almost blinding. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
Moreover, local Australian reporters, upon seeing Weber, the local driver, gave him enthusiastic cheers and applause.
This is the home-field advantage, never lacking in supporters.
Once the promotional photos were taken, the six drivers sat down one by one to receive questions and interviews from the journalists.
The F1 pre-race press conference differs from serious news interviews. Drivers can relax with crossed legs, responding and chatting casually without many constraints.
Soon, a white reporter stood up in the audience, quickly directing the first question at Weber: "Weber, I’m an ABC reporter. You experienced a car failure and dropped down from pole position in the last race. Has the car issue been resolved now?"
"The team has resolved the stability issue,"
Weber replied casually, noting that the Renault engine of Red Bull Racing doesn’t have any critical faults, just needs to lower power a bit to be reliable.
"What’s your target for this race? Can you defeat your opponents and win the championship?"
"Of course, no driver doesn’t want to win the championship."
Weber answered officially and formally. Even in his pre-retirement phase, he maintained a steady demeanor and had a good reputation in the paddock, much like fellow Australian Ricardo later on.
Han Han once made a bawdy joke on Five-Star Sports while commentating F1 events, describing Weber’s career driving style as flaccid early on, yet stiff later.
After this comment, Five-Star Sports never dared to invite Han Han to commentate again...
Of course, that’s a later story. As of now, Weber had not been shattered by Vettel yet.
However, regarding the interview, it’s evident that Weber’s watertight answers didn’t have the value needed for stirring news.
Even though he’s the home driver for Australia, journalists couldn’t resist turning their cameras towards someone else.
First in line was the HRT driver Chen Xiangbei!
"Xiangbei, after the Bahrain interview, HRT manager Briatore responded to Rosberg’s accusations of dangerous driving; do you agree?"
As this question was posed, the atmosphere at the scene instantly changed, with varied expressions on everyone’s faces, generally anticipating a good show.
It should be noted that Briatore’s post-race response directly criticized Rosberg, saying only weaklings make excuses!
If Chen Xiangbei agreed, it would undoubtedly mean publicly humiliating Rosberg, forging a feud.
If he disagreed, it would mean openly opposing the team’s manager’s statement, potentially harming team dynamics, especially since Hua Bu is known to be quite petty.
Regardless of how diplomatically Chen Xiangbei handled the situation, he couldn’t give a satisfactory answer; certainly, this pre-race press conference was destined to be a battlefield!
